Bellevue Estate Atticus 2024 Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

The Cape blend, built around Pinotage, is South Africa’s own idea of a signature red, and few estates have more right to make one than Bellevue, the birthplace of the grape. Atticus is its everyday take on the style, named after one of the family’s prized Arabian stallions and made to be enjoyed rather than revered.

The 2024 is 41 percent Pinotage with 39 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 percent Petit Verdot, drawing bush-vine Pinotage and trellised Cabernet and Petit Verdot from good soils across the estate. After fermentation, malolactic and around eleven months in French and American oak, roughly a third of it new, the parts are blended into a whole with real stamina.

The 2024 season was kind to Stellenbosch reds. Without excessive heat, and with a drier summer and soils that held their water well, the growing season was compact and focused. That gave deeply coloured, well-structured red grapes, ideal raw material for a bold blend like this that is built to soften and reward a little patience.

In its youth this is a robust, mouth-filling red, showing dark plum and ripe berry fruit with vanilla from well-judged oak. The tannins are firm but ripe, softening with a year or two in bottle. A versatile food wine: try it now with a lamb potjie, Sunday roast or grilled steak, or give it time to unwind. It should drink well for several years.

Bellevue positions Atticus as an approachable, versatile red rather than a cellar trophy, and it delivers exactly that. If you like a robust Aussie Shiraz-Cabernet or a hearty Cape blend, this will feel right at home on the table. It is an easy, crowd-pleasing choice for a big roast or a relaxed evening with friends.